EU Imports and Exports: Food and Agricultural Products

Lord de Clifford Excerpts

Thursday 2nd May 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord de Clifford (CB)]

I thank the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh of Pickering, for bringing this topic to the Chamber. I draw attention to my entry in the register, as I work for a veterinary practice.

The veterinary industry and some in the farming industry welcome the introduction of these controls and the increase in the number of inspections on imports of plant and animal products. In January, in the debate on biosecurity tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Trees, I raised the issue of African swine fever, which the noble Lord just mentioned again. In September 2023, there was an outbreak of African swine fever in wild boar in Sweden, many hundreds of miles away from any previous outbreak. The source was unknown. After the debate, a statement on Defra’s website stated that the source of the infection was found to be infected meat in a rubbish dump, found at the epicentre of the outbreak.

Some vets in the pig sector have concluded that this devastating disease for pigs will reach the UK at some point in the near future. The most likely source of this infection will be contaminated meat, just like the outbreak in Sweden. There is real concern and high uncertainty within the sector regarding the changes made this week. With the launch of the second stage of the border target operating model on Tuesday, I hope we will see an increase in the number of physical inspections on medium-risk animal and plant products and high-risk foods at some of the newly established border control posts, such as Sevington. These inspections are welcome, as they will improve the country’s biosecurity if importers comply, or attempt to comply, with these regulations.

With the move of the border control to Sevington, 22 miles from the Port of Dover, there could now be fewer physical inspections at the Port of Dover, so individuals intending to bring illegal or possibly infected meat products into the country and to ignore the regulations will be less likely to be intercepted. The possibility of fewer inspections in Dover has been reinforced by Defra reducing the funding of Dover Port Health Authority by £2.1 million this year. Last weekend, Dover Port Health Authority seized 3.4 tonnes of illegal meat products, the largest haul this year, taking seizures since the new ASF control measures came into force in September 2022 to 85 tonnes. A National Pig Association spokesman said:

“The situation is concerning because, as of the end of April, there is still no clear indication of how Defra intends to tackle the problem of illegal meat imports, which, of course, pose a huge threat to the UK pig industry”.


The National Farmers’ Union has also raised concerns about this.

What plans does Defra have to ensure that the number of random inspections at the Port of Dover does not fall in the coming months? Secondly, what measures does Border Force have in place to track vehicles that are required to stop at Sevington? What actions and resources are in place to track vehicles that should have stopped but do not? Which agency will handle the tracking of these vehicles and the seizing of imported goods? As the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, asked, when will we have a review of this scheme before the implementation of the next stage?

Finally, will the Minister update the House on whether there have been any further negotiations with the EU regarding the opening of border control posts in our nearest European neighbours? If border controls could be reopened, that could enable the export of high-quality breeding livestock to recommence. It has ceased since we left the EU, other than by a very long journey via the Republic of Ireland. It would give farmers an opportunity to trade their highly bred animals, benefit from the investments they have made in their herds and maximise their income.